Almost every herp species of Karelia + extremely rare find!

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Russianherps
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Almost every herp species of Karelia + extremely rare find!

Post by Russianherps »

Hello, Forum! It's me again, and this time we gonna talk about the herp assortment in Republic of Karelia, Russia! Here are my finds of different years. Let's go!

PART 1 - SNAKE:
Yes, it's not snakes. It's snake. Common European adder (Vipera berus) is the only snake species native to Karelia. If you're lucky, you may also find a Natrix natrix, but it usually don't lives here, but comes occasionaly from more southern regions.

Adult from near White Sea:

ImageИзображение 331 by ru_seva, on Flickr

And a pretty little and cute juvenile found in summer 2015!

ImageIMG_0701 by ru_seva, on Flickr

This is the only my good photos of V. berus :( , so let's go to next part!

PART 2 - AMPHIBIANS:

In Karelia there is two frog species. On this photos - Common frog (Rana temporaria) in it's breeding season:

Imageизображение 1574 by ru_seva, on Flickr

Imageизображение 1572 by ru_seva, on Flickr

Imageизображение 1558 by ru_seva, on Flickr

Can you notice third one on this image?

Imageизображение 1582 by ru_seva, on Flickr

Imageизображение 1586 by ru_seva, on Flickr

And second species is Moor frog (Rana arvalis). It usually can be differenced from R. temporaria using upside-down V letter on it's head.

ImageIMG_0122 by ru_seva, on Flickr

Common toad (Bufo bufo) is pretty common too. Here is a juvenile a few centimeters long.

ImageIMG_0690 by ru_seva, on Flickr

Also, two species of newts (Triturus cristatus und Lissotriton vulgaris) inhabit Karelia, but I've found only this larvae (species unknown):

Imageизображение 014 by ru_seva, on Flickr

PART 3 - LIZARDS:

In Karelia there are only two lizard species. Common one is Viviparous Lizard (Zootoca vivipara):

Adult one (notice a mite on it's leg):

ImageIMG_0288 by ru_seva, on Flickr

Bottom side:

ImageIMG_0292 by ru_seva, on Flickr

And the juvenile.

Imageизображение 531 by ru_seva, on Flickr

The second, rare species is Slow Worm (Anguis fragilis) - legless lizard.

ImageИзображение 049 by ru_seva, on Flickr

ImageИзображение 041 by ru_seva, on Flickr

ImageИзображение 050 by ru_seva, on Flickr

And the coolest and rarest find of summer 2015 - melanistic Viviparous Lizard! Look at this fantastic colours!

ImageIMG_0759 (1) by ru_seva, on Flickr

ImageIMG_0773 by ru_seva, on Flickr

That's all for today!
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Jeff
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Re: Almost every herp species of Karelia + extremely rare fi

Post by Jeff »

Thank you for the thorough summary of Karelian herpetofauna. I thought Montana was poor with 16 species in my area. My brother lives nearby in Tampere, Finland, so he shares the few species, except for Natrix natrix, which he saw once. If you report to us again, please show what the habitat looks like.

Jeff
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pjfishpa
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Re: Almost every herp species of Karelia + extremely rare fi

Post by pjfishpa »

Great stuff there! Thanks for posting. Love seeing the things we never get to encounter.
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Jeroen Speybroeck
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Re: Almost every herp species of Karelia + extremely rare fi

Post by Jeroen Speybroeck »

It doesn't have to be about big species number counts every time; this is cool too. Especially since I have about all of those species (and more) in my backyard too. ;)
That arvalis looks funny though; I really don't think the V-mark is a reliable feature to distinguish it from temporaria.
That black vivipara's belly is fascinating...!

Those newt larvae are vulgaris, not cristatus. The latter has very elongated, thin toes, especially on the hind feet.
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chrish
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Re: Almost every herp species of Karelia + extremely rare fi

Post by chrish »

Interesting stuff. That black lizard is really beautiful.

You may not have that many species in Karelia but considering it is as far north as central Alaska here in North America it is amazing you have the number of species you do!

How long is the herping season up there?
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Russianherps
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Re: Almost every herp species of Karelia + extremely rare fi

Post by Russianherps »

chrish wrote:Interesting stuff. That black lizard is really beautiful.

You may not have that many species in Karelia but considering it is as far north as central Alaska here in North America it is amazing you have the number of species you do!

How long is the herping season up there?
Thank for replies everybody. Especially Jeroen Speybroeck for newt larvae ID.
Chrish, herping season in Karelia lasts from end of april (newts and frogs mating) to august-september.
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